2013 Fall Updates

December 18

Starting tomorrow, I will be assuming the primary role as SLO
Coordinator for the college. Katryn Wiese's herculean efforts as SLO
Coordinator created processes and resources that put us on a sustained
and continous pathway to improved student learning (and
accreditation!). She is now eager to resume her departmental
responsibilities in Earth Sciences. She writes, “I am gratefully
relinquishing the role of primary SLO Coordinator to Kristina
Whalen, though I will continue to work with her in spring as
technical support. I am confident that she will continue to lead us
toward positive conversations and processes that bring all divisions
and employees of the college together in a shared vision of
supporting our college mission of continued excellence in student learning.”

As a community, we would be remiss if we didn’t pause to reflect on
Katryn’s leadership, achievements, and ability to pilot change. The
following is just a few of the many campus leaders expressing gratitude:

“The leadership Katryn has shown in working with faculty as the SLO
Coordinator is, I believe, one of the primary reasons CCSF has made
such great progress on SLO’s. She has been the face of SLO
development for the college and in meeting this accreditation
requirement and we all owe her a big thank you for her hard work.”

--Robert Agrella, Special Trustee

"In her role of SLO coordinator Katryn has manifested great
generosity in sharing knowledge and expertise -- and isn't that the
essence of teaching? Even before CCSF was put on Show Cause, Katryn
had been sharing her developing understanding of SLOs. Before she was
drafted to serve as our formal coordinator, she was giving up large
swaths of her own time to support college-wide work. As coordinator,
she continued to give more than she will ever be compensated for. I've
been told that the best way to thank a teacher is to make good use of
what was learned, so let us give Katryn our deepest thanks, not just
with heartfelt words, but by continuing and improving our own SLO work."

--Karen Saginor, Librarian

"Special thanks to Katryn for all you have done. You took a
process started in a little way by the DCC - and built it into a
college-wide process that may well be the key to full accreditation
once again. You put up with important questions, idiotic questions,
repeat questions - all with grace and patience. Thanks for all you
have done."

--Darlene Alioto, Department Chair Council President

"Katryn single handedly changed the culture of assessment at
CCSF. She provided not just her expertise, but she has the ability to
tap into the best qualities in all of us - to remind us what we know
and how best to share it. As a result, we have become better
counselors, teachers, administrators, and staff. I think her belief in
each of us along with her knowledge, generosity, and kindness has made
CCSF a much better learning environment for everyone."

--Kathleen Mitchell, Counselor/Instructor

"Katryn's passion and drive to serve CCSF's student is evident
in everything she does -- from inspiring and rallying the college
community to focus on student learning outcomes, highlighting best
practices and models within the institution, creating a learning
environment for us to ensure that in all matters the College focuses
on improvement so that our students get the best of what CCSF has to
offer! Your work is the cornerstone of CCSF and I thank you!"

"Thank you, Katryn, for the amazing leadership and force of
change you have been for the college, the SLO process, and in helping
update the natural sciences general education outcomes. Working with
you and learning from you has made me a better leader and instructor."

--Chantilly Apollon, Faculty

"When I look back over the last year, I am amazed by and
grateful for how much City College accomplished through Katryn’s
leadership on outcomes assessment. Her truly indelible mark on me,
however, comes from her clear and unwavering focus on improving
student learning and College services. Thank you for your hard work,
Katryn – and thank you for reminding me to be inspired."

--Pam Mery, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness

"Thank you Katryn for working so hard and taking the leadership
risks that were needed to get the entire college moving! You are the best."

--Diana Markham, Faculty

"Katryn, you are one of a kind, and will not be easily
replaced. You move so quickly all the time and your brain clicks so
fast. It’s so hard to catch up with you. All your hard work on
SLO will be remembered here at CCSF."

--Judy Seto, Management Assistant

"How appropriate that the force of nature that is Katryn should
want to return to the Earth Sciences Department. Once this crisis has
passed, if any one person can be said to have won CCSF's
re-accreditation, it will be Katryn."

Fred Teti, Academic Senate President

Thank you, Katryn!

Kristina Whalen

SLO Coordinator

December 11

Results and recommendations are available for the coordinated
GE-Area C Spring 2013 assessment. Please review
the report and contribute to the ongoing discussions of the SLO
Committee, Planning Committee, Assessment Planning Team, and Academic
Senate Executive Council.

Congratulations! We are ALL getting used to the process of
completing SLO progress reports at the end of each semester. Based on
the reports already in, it's clear that people know where to find the
forms, how to complete them, and how to see the results. Thank you
all! Results are available through department/unit assessment web
pages. For those who haven't yet completed the forms, please remember
to do so before the end of this semester! (Click
here to get to the reports.) Report only on what's been done for
Fall 2013.

Based on feedback about departmental and unit workflow, in
early January, when the spring semester starts, we will close the Fall
2013 reports and make the Spring 2014 reports available at the same
time. With access to end-of-the-semester forms at the beginning of the
semster, departments and units can easily keep track of progress made
during the first month of the semester, at FLEX events and department
meetings, and incorporate activity into Spring progress reports.

Onward!

Kristina Whalen

SLO Coordinator

December 4

Important Reminder: Make sure that you have located, reset (if
needed), or requested your CCSF google mail username and password
for the Fall 2013 progress reports.

SLO Coordinator help and tech support is not available over the
holiday. Last help lab is Monday, December 9, 1-2 pm in S 37.

Lots of professional development activities related to assessment
are approaching. If you'd like some fresh ideas, a chance to dialogue
with colleagues, or some clarity about assessment techniques, data
collection, analysis, mapping, and assessment scheduling, please check
out these opportunities:

December 9th from 2-3 pm in MU 398. Learn more about how to use
the grading options in the upgraded version of Insight. Specifically,
how to set up advanced grading for assignments by using rubrics and
marking guides. Examples of each will be demonstrated.

Presenters: Diana Markham & Cynthia Dewar

Jan 9, FLEX Workshops

Using CATs (Course Assessment Techniques) in the
Classroom.This session will explain CATs and share techniques.
Attendees will leave with knowledge of how to implement several CAT
practices that will allow meaningful adjustments to classroom
instruction so as to better ensure students are meeting outcomes.

Presenter: Geisce Ly, Dean of Downtown Center

Mapping Assessments:In this hands-on workshop you will
map your current assessments to SLOs in one of your courses. From
there we will discuss strategies for documenting assessment of SLOs
once every three years. Resources for mapping and rubrics for
documentation/easy data collection will be provided. Time permitting,
we will dialogue about making connections between SLO documentation
and student achievement data. **Bring one syllabus listing your course
SLOs and the assessments/assignments you use in class.

Presenter: Tracy Burt, Faculty CDEV; MIP Coordinator

Program-Level Assessment Strategies.This session will
demystify program-level assessment by describing several data
collection techniques, approaches, as well as data analysis at the
program level.

Presenter Nick Akinkuoye, AVC of Academic Affairs--School Deans

Collegewide Dialogue Continued. This session will explain
the two kinds of institutional level assessments used at CCSF (ILOs
and GELOs) and provide participants with an overview of recently
collected college-wide data, a chance to shape thinking about action
plans related to learning trends across the college, and how members
of the college community may participate in a "deep"
assessment.

Presenters: Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese

As always, thanks for your incredible commitment to student learning.

Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese

SLO Coordinators

November 20

Before heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, please take the time
to look over the Fall 2013 Assessment Progress report form. If you
have already completed all the assessment work for this semester,
consider filling out the report as soon as possible. Here is a FAQ on
the fall 2013 reports.

With a deadline of Jan 2nd, do you expect faculty and staff to work
during the break?

There is no expectation that you have to work during the break. The
deadline for the reports is also the deadline for submission of final
grades. Just like grades, most of us like to have them completed and
off our plate before the end of the final exam period. As a courtesy
to those that may feel pressured by that timeline, the college has
long established a final deadline for grades in January. The
Assessment Progress Reports extend that same courtesy. Hopefully,
almost all reports will be submitted by December 19th.

Wouldn't it better to allow faculty time at the beginning of the
next semester to discuss the work they did in the fall before they
submit the fall reports?

We have done this in the past but realized a "next
semester" deadline for a "previous semester" report has
problems. First, it treats the progress reports more as an assignment
deadline than a snapshot of the work your unit completed during the
semester. Second, it is not accurate. If your faculty get together to
discuss data and improvements at the beginning of the semester then it
is work done during that semester, not the semester previous.
It should be included on the next progress report.

Is the reporting form different?

The reporting form will look very familiar. After the SLO Committee
analyzed the reports from August, we changed, and hopefully improved,
the form. A few questions have been added; others deleted. Consider
looking over the word
document of the form before starting to complete the form.

Do I still need a user name and password?

Yes! You still need the username and password to a CCSF google mail
account. Find your password well before you sit down to complete the
report. This username and password will allow the submitter to edit
the report later if needed. If you don't yet have a username/password
or forgot your password, see the instructions for
more information.

Where do I report the Critical Thinking ILO results for my program?

The Fall 2013 Assessment Progress Report will prompt program
coordinators to input ILO results, if they are available. If
data results will not be ready until spring, those results will
be gathered then and the SLO Coordinator will contact you. You will
only get a prompt for the ILO page if you check the box indicating the
data was analyzed and discussed. All program coordinators should have
established a rubric for how they
define Proficient, Developing, and No
Evidence and had conversations with faculty before entering those
data (Fall Progress Report or Spring Progress Report). See instructions for
more information.

Who needs to fill out a report?

Reports are due for every course, program, service program, and
administrative unit on campus. Multiple instructors on the same course
should coordinate with the course coordinator, or establish a course
coordinator, so that multiple reports for the same course do not
overwrite each other. Program/service/unit coordinators should be
established for each program, service, or unit. Your direct
supervisors are responsible for ensuring everyone completes these
important and required reports on time.

Are these reports important?

Yes! They are an accreditation standard that we must meet. More
importantly, they are a useful tool that CCSF employees are using to
chart a path for the best educational experience for our students.
Our Summary
Report for Spring 2013 included many examples of the rich
processes these reports capture. One said, "A feeling of
camaraderie and an environment of collegiality was very evident
early on. The more we engaged in the process, the more social it
became, and the more academically enlightening." Be sure to
make these reports valuable and useful for you and your ongoing
efforts for course and program review and improvement.

Thank you for your contribution to our success in this process.

More questions? Come to our weekly drop-in help sessions,
Mondays from 1-2 pm in Science 37. Or drop us an email.

Kristina Whalen & Katryn Wiese CCSF SLO Coordinators

November 13

Assessment work on the campus has been vibrant and robust—and now
recognized by the ACCJC! On October 30th, a Feed Back
Memo on the College Status Report on SLO Implementation,
prepared at the request of the SLO Coordinators and Gohar Momjian,
arrived at the college from the ACCJC. Using a 1-5 scale and based on
the report provided to the ACCJC in March, CCSF’s overall score was
3.42. This score places CCSF into the category of
Proficiency, and in many areas “solidly meeting expectation of
standard.” News to really celebrate is the top score of 5 given
to the SLO Implementation work of student services!

The SLO Scorecard has been updated on the Outcomes and Assessment page for
your review. This Scorecard
provides all the evaluations provided to the college for the following
areas: 1. Placement of authentic assessments; 2. Institutional dialog;
3. Decision-making based on SLO work; 4. Resource allocation based on
assessment; 5. SLO reporting; 6. SLO alignment with degree outcomes;
7. Student awareness of outcomes, and more.

Alongside the evaluations by the ACCJC (based on last spring’s
progress report), the SLO Coordinators have provided our evaluation of
how those scores may have improved since March.

In the report, two areas were ranked lower than the Proficiency
earning score of 3. Krista Johns, Vice President of Policy of Planning
for the ACCJC, conferenced with SLO Coordinators and ALO Momjian to
elaborate and clarify those scores so that we have assurances that the
path forward will correct these deficiencies. Notes of that conference
are provided on the Scorecard.

It is clear that our work has been strong. The assessment work done
to improve the educational experience for our students is remarkable
and inspiring. Thank you for continuing to be some of the best
educators in the State!

Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese

SLO Coordinators

November 6

As mentioned last Friday, the new version of the biannual
assessment progress reports is now available online. They are
due by January 2nd for all courses, programs, and services. As
a progress report, coordinators should understand these reports as
summaries of work completed, NOT a requirement to do last-minute work.
If no work was completed, just tell us your plans for the next
semester. We hope this clarification will provide assurance that SLO
reporting is a sustainable process.

We have added a few new questions to give us a better idea of
assessment progress across the college. We have removed other
questions to compensate. However, you will all need to gather
additional information this reporting cycle before submitting your
forms, including:

Official outcomes location online (web address)

Number of outcomes assessed to date

Number of outcomes
unassessed to date

Current assessment cycles/frequency (how
often are you assessing)

AND... if you are an instructional
or counseling program reporting on ILO#1 results, you will need to
have the data available (though for many of these programs, you will
be able to report on these results in Spring).

Please remember that these reports are an essential way to maintain
momentum in outcomes assessment, which is why we ask everyone to check
in on their progress twice a year. They are also a requirement for our
accreditation, and one for which we must demonstrate our continued
commitment and follow through. As we will discuss more in next week's
email, these centralized reports are an area in which we have been
found deficient in the past and thus must make a regular part of our
ongoing processes for the future.

We are working right now to identify and fund the purchase of a new
reporting software that will replace the home-grown Google Forms
reporting that we use right now. It is our hope that we will have that
program online by the end of Spring, so it will be ready for the next
reporting cycle. We also hope to upload into this software much of the
information you enter into the current reports. The new software will
roll out to be as similar to the current system as possible, but will
be more robust, user-friendly and sustainable than the current system,
and have room to expand as needed to meet our needs.

RECOMMENDATION: you have 2 months from now to complete these
progress reports. We recommend everyone jump in right away and get
started. Explore the form. Enter some preliminary information. You can
always follow the link in your email copy to return later to edit and
complete the report before you leave for vacation at the end of the
semester. And share the load!

CCSF has seen a huge culture shift on assessment, but some still
note that assessments are time consuming. These instructors want more
time for their students. Assessment and student interaction are not
mutually exclusive. If you feel drained by conducting assessments, let
us help. Like an Energy Audit of your home, SLO Coordinators can meet
with course or program coordinators, go over your assessment
practices, and make suggestions for how you might reconfigure your
assessments so they are meaningful, "energy efficient," and elegant.

How to get help? Attend Friday's brown bag. Come to a Monday drop-in
session (1-2 pm in S27). Email Kristina Whalen to set up an
appointment. As with ALL teaching tasks, our work can take up as much
time as we let it. (If all we taught was one class, we could still let
it eat up 100% of our time.) Solutions exist. Let us help.

Meanwhile, we are still looking for volunteers to sign up for the
Areas A and E workgroups for General Education Outcomes Assessment.
These assessments are required for our accreditation, and here's an
opportunity for faculty to volunteer to take on some of the workload.
We need your help! (More
information online.)

Hopeful,

Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinators

October 23rd

Volunteers wanted for GE-Area A workgroup and GE-Area E workgroup

Spring 2014, we will be conducting a coordinated assessment of all
general education outcomes within GE-Areas A and E. To assist with
this process, we are right now forming two workgroups whose tasks will
be to:

Fall 2013: Develop
instructions and examples to go to all instructors of Area
C-assessed courses explaining how to use rubric at end of semester
and reminding them that they will enter their information into
end-of-semester progress reporting forms.

Fall 2013
and Spring 2014: Review existing mapping data for Area A or E and
consider refinements/gaps/next steps.

Fall 2013 and
Spring 2014: Review outcomes and refine as necessary to ensure
continued value and appropriateness.

Summary and evaluation reports are in for the August 31st reporting
forms. Also an update to the Annual Assessment Plan. All three reports
will be discussed as informational items at upcoming Academic Senate
Executive Council and Participatory Governance Planning Committee
meetings. To provide feedback, please email the SLO
Coordinators. Enjoy!

Friday, October 18 TOPIC:Assessment cycles -- choosing
the one that works best for you and is both valuable and
sustainable

SLO Committee

Want to work on a committee that is project based and highly
productive? Join the SLO Committee -- open to everyone who wants to
help with ongoing efforts: Next meeting:Monday, October 21st --
Science 9 -- 2-3:30 pm.

Onward!

Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinators

October 7, 2013

ILO Assessment. Are you a course instructor with a Critical
Thinking SLO? Is your program part of Fall 2013 ILO assessment? Did
you answer “yes!” to the first question and “I don’t know” to second?
Don’t be in the dark any longer. If you teach a course with a critical
thinking SLO, find out if you are participating in the ILO assessment
by doing any or all of the following : 1) Find the answer in your
Spring 2013 Program Reports for your department (located on your
department’s SLO webpage—every department has one!) 2) ask your
Program Coordinator or Department Chair 3) Ask Kristina Whalen, your
SLO/ILO Assessment Coordinator.

Upcoming events:

Monday, October 7th, 2-3:30 in S9, SLO Committee Meeting.

Friday, October 18 ,12-1 in S 37, SLO Brown Bag
Lunch TOPIC: Assessment Cycles. How often should I Assess SLO/PSLO/AUOs?

SLO Coordinators

Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese

October 1, 2013

Outcome Assessment October Highlights

In this month’s installment of HIGHLIGHTS,
the Culinary Art and Hospitality program provides a model of how
departments start creating a culture of intentionality with the wise
use of faculty retreats, impeccably defined assessment processes, and
regular staff meetings.

Faculty member Chantilly Apollon shares her reflections on using the
rubric developed as part of the General Education Natural Sciences
Area Assessment in Spring 2013 and how it helped her coordinate
efforts and results across multiple instructors and sections for the
same course.

Finally, Police Chief Andre Barnes demonstrates how the Public
Safety Office has used Administrative Unit Outcomes to assess, report,
work to identify gaps, and implement improvements.

Friday, October 4thTOPIC: Assessing your program to be part of the Fall 2013 ILO #1
assessment -- Critical Thinking and Information Competency --
What's involved? How will you report results?

Friday, October 18 TOPIC:Assessment cycles -- choosing
the one that works best for you and is both valuable and
sustainable

Friday October 25 TOPIC:Techniques and rubrics for
assessing performances, presentations, works of art, and other
creative or demonstrative work.

SLO Committee

Want to work on a committee that is project based and highly
productive? Join the SLO Committee -- open to everyone who wants to
help with ongoing efforts: Next meeting: Monday, October 7th --
Science 9 -- 2-3:30 pm.

Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinators

September 26

The September 17th FLEX event on Accreditation was held last
Tuesday. Over 450 evaluations were received after the event, filled
with ideas to share with presenters and college leaders and input on
the GE-Area C results. The median satisfaction score was 8 out of 10.
Division/School meetings received the highest satisfaction ratings,
followed by concurrent sessions, and then the opening session. A
report on the event, including a summary of shared ideas and input is
now available here: Sept.
17 FLEX Evaluation Report. CRN numbers are available on the event
web page for faculty tracking FLEX attendance.

Thank you to EVERYONE who volunteered and helped make the day work.
We couldn't have done it without you. And thanks to all who jumped in
and embraced the goals of the day -- meeting new people and learning
how ongoing efforts at the college affect different units.

SLO Committee meetings -- open to everyone who wants
to help with ongoing efforts: Monday, October 7th -- Science
9 -- 2-3:30 pm

Thank you all for your efforts towards assessing outcomes across the
college and using those data to effect program improvements.

Onward!

Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinators

September 17, 18, and 19

Thanks for your participation and discussion in Tuesday's
college-wide FLEX event on accreditation. We would love to hear your
ideas and reflections. Even if you have nothing to share, please fill
out our evaluation form to indicate the sessions you attended (so we
can get an accurate attendance headcount). Thank you!

Presentations from the opening session and some of the concurrent
sessions are now posted on the event
web page.

Additional presentations and summaries will be posted online within
the next week or two including a summary of ideas shared through the
evaluation form.

Thanks!

Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinator

September 16 -- FAQ on 9/17!

Q: What’s the purpose of the 9/17 FLEX DAY?

A: The purpose is to generate robust dialogue and positive solutions
to our accreditation issues. The day is designed so that people have a
chance to learn about accreditation challenges in areas of the college
they feel they know little about.

Q: The opening session is being webcast. Can’t I watch it from my
office or home computer?

A: The opening session is where the dialogue begins! We need people
together in the same spot for maximum interaction.

Q: Where do I go?

A: Between 8:00-8:45 Diego Rivera is the place to be.
Complimentary breakfast proceeds the opening session. When Diego
Rivera fills, make your way to one of the six overflow rooms. Overflow
rooms are assigned based on last digit of employee ID number.

VART 114 (employee number ends in 0 to 1)

VART
115 (employee number ends in 2 or 3)

Rosenberg
304 (employee number ends in 4)

Rosenberg
305 (employee number ends in 5)

Science 100
(employee number ends in 6 or 7)

Science 136 (employee
number ends in 8 or 9)

Choose a session at 11:00AM that you feel you know little about.

At 1:00 PM, you should be with your school or division. See
agenda for room details.

Q: Am I required to attend?

A: Everyone is required to attend. Some exceptions exist and some
office with be staffed during the sessions. See the FLEX Guidelines.

Q: Will food be provided?

A: A light breakfast and afternoon cookie snack are provided.
Employees are encourage to bring a lunch or ask your dean for guidance.

Q: Besides lunch, do I need to bring anything else?

A: You need a pen or pencil, something to write on, and a positive outlook.

Next steps for outcomes assessment at CCSF? PROGRAM REVIEW and
ongoing ILO #1 assessment!

Program Review: The annual program review process is in
progress this Fall. Here's something EVERY program can get started on
today. Review your outcomes-assessment data and activities over the
past year (2012-2013) and summarize those to answer the following
Program Review question:

Summarize overall departmental/program improvements implemented, in
progress, or under consideration as a result of the assessment of
learning, service, and/or administrative unit outcomes. (Be sure to
reference the data/reports that underlie these new directions.)

And consider that if you plan to ask for resources this year in your
Program Review (time, positions, budgets, software, instruments,
etc.), you'll want to link those requests back to what your assessment
data show. Start working on that now.

We need your help! This month and this semester, the SLO
Committee has a LOT of work to do reporting on the Aug. 31 reports,
coordinating the 9/17 FLEX event, and coordinating ongoing ILO and GEO
assessments. Many hands make the work lighter and more manageable.
Faculty and staff of all classifications, heed our cry for help and
step up. We need you.

Want to help support ongoing
SLO efforts across the college? Join the SLO
Committee and help. Next meeting: Monday 9/9 from 2-3:30 pm in
S37. Important work for the semester includes facilitating our
ongoing assessment of Institutional Learning Outcome #1: Critical
Thinking and Information Competency.

Clarification of FLEX requirement for faculty: 9/17 is a
required FLEX day (it is NOT an independent FLEX day). For more
details on your requirement, review the HR guidelines.

Kristina Whalen & Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinators

September 3

The August 31st deadline is past, and everyone responded
stupendously! KUDOS ON THE HARD WORK! Look what we
accomplished:

93% of instructional programs reported (that's 311!)

94% of courses reported (that's 1642!)

100% of
counseling programs reported (23 reports)

93% of student
service programs reported (26 reports)

22 reports from
Administrative Service Units, Centers, and other Academic Service
units that are joining the college-wide effort.

GIVE YOURSELVES A HAND! This reponse was the strongest yet in
our ongoing effort to create an outcomes-assessment cultural shift at
the college. This accomplishment is the result of hundreds of faculty
and staff from all corners of the college pulling together. Thanks to
everyone who worked so hard to meet this deadline and especially to
those of you who are working on ensuring your outcomes-assessment
efforts are authentic and valuable.

Summary reports of data submitted to date are being compiled right
now for college-wide review and analysis.

The next reporting cycle ends on January 31st. Between now and then,
please be sure to conduct assessments in as valuable a way as possible
for your course or program. A few tips for helping the January 31st
reporting go quickly and smoothly:

Remember that the biannual reports are SNAPSHOTS of
what you've done over the past 6 months. They are not supposed to
motivate increased workloads at the last minute. If certain work
wasn't done, then it wasn't done. Report that no work was done, and
indicate your plans to pick up the work in the following
semester.

During the Fall semester, conduct your
outcomes-assessment activities and keep notes along the
way. Store those notes where you can easily reference them come
report time.

Write down your reporting username and password! (Store it
where you can easily find it -- perhaps in the same location as your
outcomes-assessment-activities notes.)

Analyzing data? Be sure to set aside time for discussion,
whether you're evaluating data from last semester or this
semester.

Not enough time to do it all? Break up the tasks. Assess one
semester. Analyze and discuss data the next.

Teach a course? Coordinate with your SLO Course Coordinator
to ensure you're all assessing the same SLO(s). If the course maps
to a program, and that program is undergoing assessment this
semester, coordinate with the Program Coordinator so you can be a
part of the ongoing ILO assessment happening this Fall 2013.

Breathe deep -- develop a sustainable process that brings real
value to you and your colleagues.

Thanks again everyone. Onward!

Kristina Whalen & Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinators

Resources and upcoming events:

Have questions? Need help? Start now, and come to the weekly
drop-in help sessions Mondays from 1-2 pm in Science 37.

Want to
play a bigger role? Join the SLO
Committee and help. Every other Monday from 2-3:30 pm in
S37.

September 17th: ALL-college ALL-day FLEX event -- agenda
now online: POSITIVE PATHWAYS TO ACCREDITATION:
COLLEGE-WIDE ROBUST DIALOGUE Integrating accreditation and student learning, service,
and administrative unit outcomes into our regular daily college
workings & learning more about what happens in programs across
the college

August 30

September HIGHLIGHTS,
our online newsletter, showcasing great things happening in
outcomes assessment across the college is now available. This
month, read about these showcased programs: the Math
Department, the Visual Media Design Department, and an
update on a collaborative learning project between students in
Registered Nursing and Radiologic Sciences.

Articles in the works for next month include highlights from
Campus Public Safety and Culinary Arts & Hospitality Services.

September 17th: ALL-college ALL-day FLEX event -- agenda
now online: POSITIVE PATHWAYS TO ACCREDITATION:
COLLEGE-WIDE ROBUST DIALOGUEIntegrating accreditation and student learning, service,
and administrative unit outcomes into our regular daily college
workings & learning more about what happens in programs across
the college

Onward!

Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinators

August 26th

Out of approximately 2000 reports needed by August 31, about 1250
are now in. That's 62.5%. Thanks for your help -- and let's keep the
momentum going. We need 100% reporting. Nothing less! Please reach out
to your chairs and program managers and see what help you can provide.

Can't make any of the above? Send a
colleague who can then help you afterwards.

CMS Workshop (2 hours flex credit available): Using the
Digital Asset Manager to store documents and images. And how to
link to what you have stored on your web pages. -- Wed 8/28,
10-noon in the Batmale 313 lab. Sign
up here!

September 17th: ALL-college ALL-day FLEX event -- agenda
now online: POSITIVE PATHWAYS TO ACCREDITATION:
COLLEGE-WIDE ROBUST DIALOGUEIntegrating accreditation and student learning, service,
and administrative unit outcomes into our regular daily college
workings & learning more about what happens in programs across
the college

Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinators

August 22, 2013

Assessment stages are like colored belts in karate. Your course,
program, or service advances from one stage to the next higher stage,
until reaching the highest level. Once a black belt, the highest
stage, there’s no going backwards. You’re at that level from then on.

At CCSF our stages move up in number. Stage 1, the lowest, is
where you could imagine a new course, program, or service starts –
with defined outcomes. Stage 2 is reached when you are
conducting the first assessment of the students or served
constituents. Stage 3 is reached when the data from the first
assessment are being analyzed and discussed with decisions being made
about future steps. Stage 4 is reached when changes are
implemented. If no changes are deemed to be required, then stage 4 is
skipped. Stage 5 is when the course, program, or service is
reassessed. If there were no changes made, the assessment is just a
way to ensure the outcomes are still being achieved. If changes were
made, the assessment checks whether or not the changes are making a
positive difference. Once stage 5 is reached, the loop is closed, so
to speak.

Outcomes-assessment has become a process of continual quality
improvement (in short called CQI). The process, outcomes, assessments,
and analysis can all be improved, but the stage 5 designation stays.
(You keep your black belt.)

Why do we have these assessment stage designations at all? The
accurate reporting of assessment stages are absolutely necessary for
the SLO Coordinators to be able to quantify our progress to our
accrediting organization. We were supposed to be at stage 2 or higher
for all courses, programs, and services by Fall 2012. To achieve
completely the SLO standards, we need to be at 5. So keep moving
forward, and report accurately!

Kristina Whalen & Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinators

Monday, August 19, 2013

The August 31st SLO reporting deadline is a little over
10 days away. Has your department completed reports for ALL its
Spring 2013 offerings? As of Friday here were our statistics on
completed reports:

52% of Spring 2013 courses had been entered

31% of
instructional programs

90% of counseling programs

51% of administrative and student service programs

By August 31st, WE MUST ACHIEVE 100% of reporting. That’s
a lot of work that needs to be done between now and August
31st. Please help your department in any way you can.

SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS of appreciation to these units that
by Friday had completed 100% or nearly 100% of their reports: ESL,
Library Information Technology, Math, Latin American Studies,
Administration of Justice/Fire Science, Social Sciences, Transitional
Studies, Women’s Studies, Counseling, Student Health, and Earth Sciences.

Some clarifications:

Reports for every course, instructional program, counseling
program, and services must be submitted twice a year – once in
the Jan. 31 reports. Once in the Aug. 31 reports.

Submit
only one report per course. Instructors of the same course need to
cooperate on the entry as well as on the assessments in
general.

Your patience, commitment,
and efforts to support the work of the college and each other in
this endeavor are GREATLY appreciated.

Kristina Whalen & Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinators

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Week one of the semester – LOTS of craziness – hope all is going well.

REMINDER: August 31st is the deadline for reporting ALL
college-wide SLO activities that happened in Spring/Summer 2013 AND
plans for Fall 2013. Review your department’s progress. Do not miss
this deadline! We must have reports from 100% of active courses and
programs and services. (See
reporting page for more details.)

Future planning: please be sure to hold September 17th in
your schedule for a day-long college-wide meeting to discuss
Accreditation challenges, responsibilities, and progress (including
SLOs). Agenda and details to be posted next week. Goal: college-wide
robust dialogue and the working together towards a shared mission of
maintaining our accreditation.

Onward!

Kristina Whalen and Katryn Wiese SLO Coordinators

Thursday, August 8, 2013

What to know about the August 13th, 2013 FLEX DAY:

Department/Program/Service Chairs/Heads: Please be sure to include
time in your department meetings to review your SLO progress and
semester goals. These goals should include:

Getting all courses, programs, and services to stage 2 by end
of Fall 2013.

Getting all courses, programs, and services
to stage 5 as soon as possible.

Ensuring all courses and
programs taught in Spring/Summer/Fall 2013 are accounted for by
August 31st in the official reporting forms.

Ensuring all course outlines are updated, ESPECIALLY those so
old they don’t include SLOs!! Rare birds, but of utmost
importance…

Reviewing departmentally the data provided
through SLO assessment of courses, programs, and services for
2012-2013 to inform changes to the department and to report upon for
the year’s program review SLO portion.

ALL FACULTY: Ensure that curriculum-committee-approved SLOs are
listed on all syllabi and the website provided to students the first
week of the semester.

EVERYONE: Professional Development on the SLO front:

1-2:30 pm -- S136 or S5 -- Return engagement: Addressing
Diversity through SLOs and Active Learning -- Presented by Susmita
Sengupta and Katryn Wiese -- S5 -- Review how SLOs and a variety of
active learning tools can be used to better engage students and
address diversity in background, learning styles, and more.

Much has been accomplished on the Student Learning Outcomes (SLO)
front over the last year, and we should be proud. However, we also
have much to do. We are still climbing the ladder toward full
achievement of the ACCJC standards. Proficiency was required by Fall
2012 (and we are near, at, or exceeding proficiency in all those
standards), but full Sustainable Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)
is the ultimate requirement, and we are not there yet.

To assist with our journey up the ladder, we will continue to send
weekly emails this year, highlight programs that are setting good
examples, and update and track our progress across the college through
an online scorecard.

Meanwhile, many are asking, “What can I do?” EVERYONE plays a role
in the SLO process. Below are 5 concrete steps you can take to help.

On the Instructional Effectiveness front, these simple
things can make a real difference and bring concrete results for
our College:

Find and bookmark your departmental or unit web page. All
programs/services/departments have one. Do you know where yours is?
Review the page and ask these questions:

Is the assessment
process your department follows clearly outlined and followed?
(The visiting team reviewed websites and applauded our
transparency. They saw great examples and poor examples. Which
one is your department?)

What kind of data are you and
your colleagues collecting? Are they valuable? Are they being
discussed? Are they inspiring change?

Are you a part of
the conversation and data collection? Are you playing an active
role?

Do you know who your
department/program/course/service SLO Coordinator is?

Are your program review documents posted? Is the SLO section
in those documents at the level it needs to be? (Does it
demonstrate the use of data to make departmental/program
improvements?)

If you’re part of an instructional
department, are ALL courses and programs submitting reports? And
are ALL courses and programs at stage 2 or higher?

Do
you know your department’s website webmaster? (Who edits that
page?) Are all parts of the page current and correct? (This is
the image you send to the rest of the college and the ACCJC. Is
it accurate? Does it show your progress?)

If the answer to any of the above questions is no, then
actively work to make it better. Each department is in charge
of its own protocols. If things aren’t working well within
your department, someone has to step in and lead. Let that be
you.

Meet the August 31st deadline for Assessment Reporting for
ALL college-wide SLO activities that happened in Spring/Summer 2013
AND plans for Fall 2013. Get in the habit! It’s not going away.
Twice a year –August 31 and January 31, ALL programs, courses, and
services MUST complete these reports. And that’s the easy part…
Ensuring that the work you report on is valuable, useful, authentic,
and discussed widely – that depends on you. Provide evidence that
assessment activities are being used to make needed improvements.
Highlight those activities in your report.

Instructional Departments: Kick that old course outline to the
curb. If you are teaching from an outline more than 6 years old,
volunteer to update the outline!

Instructional Departments: If applicable, participate in the Fall
2013 coordinated assessment of ILO 1: Critical Thinking and
Information Competency. If you are from an instructional
department, and you have programs with SLOs that map to ILO 1, then
plan to conduct assessments this Fall of at least one of those SLOs,
so you can be part of this college-wide assessment.

Service Departments (including Counseling Services): Think
about the service modules you would like to gather data about to
make your counseling and services areas stronger. It is important to
keep the work up gathering data about individual programs within
Student Services; now is the time to establish your commonalities
across the Division, and identify and assess services outcomes.

Attend Academic Senate SLO Committee meetings to help develop
ongoing processes for sustainability and authenticity and help us
meet the standards. EVERYONE WELCOME! The first meeting of the
semester is August 13th, FLEX DAY, from 4-5 pm in S45.
Meetings take place every 2 weeks throughout the semester (time and
dates to be determined at first meeting of the semester.)

Recommendation language: "To fully meet Standard II Student
Learning Programs and Services, the team recommends that the college
identify the intended SLOs at the course, program, general education,
certificate and degree levels, develop and implement assessments of
student learning, and analyze the results of assessment to improve
student learning. The results of ongoing assessment of student
learning outcomes should foster robust dialogues and yield continuous
improvement of courses, programs and services and the alignment of
college practices for continuous improvement."

I believe we have addressed the above recommendation adequately. We
have made significant progress and are heading in the right direction.
I am not alone in this opinion. It has been seconded by many external
evaluators. Thus I find myself surprised by the ACCJC verdict on the
SLO front.

No, we do not yet fully meet the ACCJC Standards related to SLOs,
but neither does most every other college in the ACCJC region. By
requiring a recent Proficiency report from all colleges in its
jurisdiction, clearly the ACCJC recognizes the challenge faced by
colleges in meeting the SLO standards and is acknowledging that since
hardly any college actually meets the standard yet, we have to move
forward one step at a time in the right direction. Progress is key --
not necessarily perfection here. Proficiency was required by March
2013. Sustainable Quality Improvement -- complete meeting of the
standard -- is a future goal.

I was also one of those unable to be present at the June ACCJC
meeting due to the limited space. I and the new co-coordinator,
Kristina Whalen, were turned away as the venue had been closed. We had
wanted to hear the report on SLOs across the state and learn more
about how the ACCJC works, so that we could respond better to its
requirements. After being turned away, I sent them a respectful letter
afterwards expressing my disappointment and my desire to hear about
future opportunities for me to get to know them better. I received no
response. I got a scanned copy of the SLO report from Karen Saginor
after the meeting. (Scanned
document on Academic Senate website.)

Based on that report, I would put CCSF squarely in the middle of the
pack in the current list of ACCJC colleges on its progress with the
SLO standards. That's a huge jump from where we were. While we do not
yet MEET the standard, we are way ahead of many other colleges
tackling this huge issue, and I believe we have developed a level of
transparency and communication about our SLOs that sets a standard for
others to follow.

Bottom line: we can NOT let today's news discourage us. We have made
significant progress in the area of SLOs and are heading in the right
direction. Though not acknowledged by the ACCJC, it has been
recognized by our peers. And we should feel good about it